Morphological Features of the Seminiferous and Cauda Epididymides Epithelia of Breeding Zebu Bulls with Normal and Decreased Testicular Consistency.

Abstract

Abstract. The fine morphology of the testes and epididymes collected from breeding Zebu (Bos indicus) bulls with normal or decreased testicular consistency (TC) at clinical palpation was studied. The ultrastructure of testicles with a slight to moderate reduction in consistency showed more obvious, albeit slight, degenerative changes in the seminiferous epithelium, with cellular debris present in Sertoli cells, compared with control animals. Abnormalities in the condensation of the chromatin and acrosomes during spermiogenesis were also common findings in cases of decreased TC. The cauda epididymides of these bulls did not show clear morphological deviations compared with controls, although the macrophagic activity of the epithelium was more pronounced, and cell debris as well as foreign cells were apparent in the lumen. The morphological findings confirm the relationship between a decreased TC at clinical palpation and the lowered normality of the testicular parenchyma, thus supporting the value of palpating scrotal contents as part of the field andrological clinical evaluation of breeding Zebu bulls in the tropics. Key words: Testicular consistency, Bos indicus, Ultrastructure, Testis, Epididymis.(J. Reprod. Dev. 45: [119][120][121][122][123][124][125][126][127][128] 1999) eef production in the tropics is based mainly on extensive production systems and natural ity [3] in European breeds under temperate conditions. A decrease in TC is commonly found in connection with acute or sub-acute testicular pathologies, such as testicular degeneration. Attempts to establish a relation between TC and seminal or fertility parameters of Bos indicus bulls have been inconclusive thus far [1,4], although morphological alterations of the seminiferous epithelium were more frequent in Zebu breeding bulls with low TC than in control bulls [5] and were often associated with temperature-induced testicular pathologies [6]. For Bos indicus, Bos taurus and crossbred breeding bulls extensively reared in Costa Rica, a negative relationship was found between decreased B mating. Under these conditions, it is essential that a complete clinical examination of the breeding bulls be made [1] and that clinical parameters related to the fertility of the bull be used as selection criteria for breeding purposes. One of these clinical parameters is testicular consistency (TC), which is normally evaluated while palpating the scrotal contents. Testicular consistency has been shown to be related to conception rate [2] and semen qual-

Clinical and Pathological Findings of a Sac-like Formation in the Tunica Vaginalis of a Nelore (Bos indicus) Bull

“…Besides, there are some findings that may be indicators of disrupted testicular function. For example, a decreased testicular consistency has been associated with pathological changes in the seminiferous epithelia and abnormalities in the ejaculate compared with normal bulls (Chacón et al. 1999; Chacón 2001).…”

Predictors of success in the breeding soundness evaluation and infertility in bulls

“…On the other hand, Sertoli cells nurture and protect germ cells via blood-testis barrier. It is also well known that more than a half of the differentiating germ cells undergo apoptosis during spermatogenesis (NAKANISHI and SHIRATSUCHI, 2004), which could further increase in the bulls with impaired spermatogenesis (CHACON et al, 1999) such as the bulls examined in the present study. This redox state shifts in the epididymal caput, where the control bulls showed a higher MDA production with a higher activity of CAT.…”

“…This idea is supported by the fact that the established negative male fertility biomarkers, such as ubiquitin, bind abnormal spermatozoa in the epididymis (SUTOVSKY et al, 2015a). However, the removal of abnormal spermatozoa by the epididymis appears to be compensatory; in other words, it may occur only when the number of abnormal spermatozoa exceeds the absorptive capacity of the rete testis and efferent ducts (RAO et al, 1980;CHACON et al, 1999).…”